Farmington Hills is a city in Oakland County, Michigan. It is a northwest suburb of Detroit and is about 22 miles (35.4 km) from downtown Detroit. According to the 2020 census, the city had a population of 83,986, making it the second-largest community in Oakland County.

Although Farmington and Farmington Hills are separate cities with their own services and addresses, they are often considered part of the same area. Both cities were once part of Farmington Township during the time of the Northwest Territory. The area includes historical sites such as the Governor Warner Mansion. Both cities use Farmington Public Schools and the Farmington Community Library.

Farmington Hills is home to the Zekelman Holocaust Center, the only Holocaust memorial in Michigan. The center was first located in West Bloomfield Township but later grew and moved to its current location in Farmington Hills.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city covers an area of 33.31 square miles (86.27 square kilometers), out of which 33.28 square miles (86.19 square kilometers) is land, and 0.03 square miles (0.08 square kilometers) is water. Farmington Hills is surrounded by West Bloomfield to the north, Franklin and Southfield to the east, Livonia to the south, and Novi to the west.

History

The first white settler in what became Farmington Township was a Quaker from Farmington, New York, named Arthur Power. He bought land in 1823 and returned in 1824 with a group of families and associates to clear the land. The settlement became known as Quakertown. A post office was established in February 1826 and named Farmington. The original post office still stands today and is a designated historic site. The township of Farmington was organized in 1827, and the settlement was incorporated as the village of Farmington in the winter of 1866–67. A fire on October 9, 1872, destroyed many buildings in the village center. Farmington was incorporated as a city in 1926.

A small settlement was also developed in Clarenceville, in the extreme southeast corner of the township on the boundary with Livonia in Wayne County. Stephen Jennings built a tavern and a general store (now the Botsford Inn) to serve travelers on the plank road between Detroit and Howell. The name Clarenceville remains in the Clarenceville School District. Even though the school buildings for Clarenceville are in Livonia in Wayne County, the school district serves part of Farmington Hills.

In 1839, a post office named East Farmington was opened, but it closed in 1842. In 1847, a post office named North Farmington was established a mile south of the township line as Wolcott's Corners. After the death of postmaster Chauncey D. Walcott in 1865, the office moved to the township line in the northeast quarter of section 4 (near the intersection of 14 Mile Road and Farmington Road). The post office operated until September 1902.

Before the rest of Farmington Township was incorporated as the city of Farmington Hills, two other incorporated areas existed within its boundaries. The first was a subdivision named Quaker Valley Farms, which was incorporated as the village of Quakertown in 1959. The second was Wood Creek Farms, developed in 1937 as a subdivision by George Wellington of Franklin, who named it after a New England estate. It was incorporated as a village in 1957. The villages, along with the rest of Farmington Township, were incorporated into the City of Farmington Hills in 1973. The city grew quickly during the mid-20th century.

A community called Quakertown North was listed in the 1970 United States census, with a population of 7,101 recorded. It was located north of the former municipality of Quakertown. The land area was 1.6 square miles, and there were 1,803 housing units. The area, along with neighboring communities, was merged into the newly created city of Farmington Hills in 1973. The ZIP code serving the area was 48331.

Economy

Farmington Hills is the location of the main offices for many large companies, such as Gale, Mango Languages, 5-Hour Energy, and The Sharper Image. It is also where the United States headquarters of Bosch, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, and TD Auto Finance are located. In the past, the city was home to the main offices of Compuware, White Motor Company, A&W Restaurants, and Michigan National Bank.

Nissan’s North American technical center is in Farmington Hills. This center was responsible for designing vehicle parts used in North America and Latin America. It also has a small laboratory where research on hydrogen fuel cells was being done as of 2012. Nissan planned to add research on electric car batteries and charging systems to the laboratory. In January 2012, the technical center had 800 full-time employees. At that time, Nissan planned to hire 150 more engineers to work there. The technical center opened in November 1991 and cost $80 million to build. In 2005, Nissan added a $14 million design studio to its Farmington Hills campus. The Nissan AZEAL was the first car designed in this new studio.

Hitachi Automotive Systems Americas, Inc. and Panasonic Automotive Systems both have offices in Farmington Hills. Lordstown Motors operates a research and development center in the city.

According to the city’s 2019 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top local employers are:

Government and politics

Farmington Hills uses a council-manager system of government. A 7-member city council leads the city, including a mayor who serves two-year terms and six councilmembers who serve different four-year terms. Councilmembers are elected citywide and without political party affiliation in years ending with an odd number. Mayors can serve up to two terms in a row, but other councilmembers have no term limits. The council chooses one member to act as mayor pro tempore.

The city council appoints a city manager to oversee daily city operations, a clerk to manage elections and legal documents, and a city attorney to provide legal advice for city matters.

The Mayor's Youth Council is a group of teenagers who work with the city to solve issues affecting young people. This group helped build the Riley Skate Park, the largest skate park in the Midwest. They also send representatives to National League of Cities conferences, write articles for the local newspaper, help organize city events, host battle of the bands competitions, and run their own talk show.

The Commission for Children, Youth and Families works with Farmington to create a friendly community for people of all ages and backgrounds. The group focuses on volunteer work, community service, and education. It partners with the Multi-Racial Multi-Cultural Commission, the Commission on Aging, Farmington Public School District, and the Farmington Public Library to share information about issues that improve health, access to resources, and learning opportunities.

In 2006, a public meeting was held in Farmington Hills to discuss merging with Farmington as a way to save money and keep both communities lively. The two cities already share services like a school district, library system, and district court. However, they each have separate fire departments, and Farmington uses a public safety department instead of a police department.

Demographics

In 2015, the average income for a household in Farmington Hills was $93,274, and the average income for a family was $198,136. Men earned an average of $61,757, while women earned an average of $39,540. The average income per person in the city was $36,134. Farmington Hills is known for its expensive homes, hills, and is listed by Forbes as one of the wealthiest suburbs in the United States, with an average household net worth of $725,120. About 2.4% of families and 4.1% of the population had incomes below the poverty level, including 3.2% of people under 18 and 7.6% of people 65 years or older.

As of the 2020 census, Farmington Hills had a population of 83,986 people, with 2,396 people living in each square mile (925.1 per square kilometer). The average age of residents was 41.6 years. Eighteen point three percent of residents were under 18, and 20.1% were 65 years or older. For every 100 females, there were 93.7 males, and for every 100 females aged 18 or older, there were 91.9 males aged 18 or older.

There were 35,352 households in Farmington Hills, and 25.0% of these households had children under 18 living in them. Of all households, 49.6% were married couples, 18.8% were led by a man without a spouse or partner, and 27.2% were led by a woman without a spouse or partner. About 31.7% of all households had only one person living in them, and 13.2% had someone 65 years or older living alone.

There were 37,382 housing units, and 5.4% of these were empty. The percentage of homes owned by people but not occupied was 1.0%, and the percentage of rental homes not occupied was 8.2%.

All residents lived in urban areas, and no one lived in rural areas.

As of the 2010 census, there were 79,740 people, 33,559 households, and 21,412 families in the city. The population density was 2,396 people per square mile (925.1 per square kilometer). There were 36,178 housing units, with an average of 1,087 units per square mile (419.7 per square kilometer). The racial makeup of the city was 69.7% White, 17.4% African American, 0.2% Native American, 10.1% Asian, 0.4% from other races, and 2.2% from two or more races. One point nine percent of the population identified as Hispanic or Latino.

Of the 33,559 households, 29.1% had children under 18 living with them, 50.7% were married couples, 9.9% were led by a woman without a husband, 3.2% were led by a man without a wife, and 36.2% were non-families. Thirty-one point five percent of all households had only one person living in them, and 12% had someone 65 years or older living alone. The average household size was 2.36 people, and the average family size was 3.00 people.

The average age of residents was 42.1 years. Twenty-one point five percent were under 18, 7.1% were between 18 and 24, 25.2% were between 25 and 44, 30.2% were between 45 and 64, and 15.9% were 65 years or older. The city had 47.1% males and 52.9% females.

In April 2013, Farmington Hills had the fourth-largest Japanese population in Michigan, with 589 people.

As of the 2000 census, there were 82,111 people, 33,559 households, and 21,813 families in the city. The population density was 2,466.4 people per square mile (952.3 per square kilometer). There were 34,858 housing units, with an average of 1,047 units per square mile (404.2 per square kilometer). The racial makeup of the city was 82.95% White, 6.94% African American, 0.17% Native American, 7.54% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.46% from other races, and 1.93% from two or more races. One point four seven percent of the population identified as Hispanic or Latino. Twelve point six percent had German ancestry, 9.1% Polish, 8.3% Irish, 7.1% English, and 5.5% Italian.

Of the 33,559 households, 29.5% had children under 18 living with them, 56.0% were married couples, 6.6% were led by a woman without a husband, and 35.0% were non-families. Twenty-nine point six percent of all households had only one person living in them, and 10.2% had someone 65 years or older living alone. The average household size was 2.41 people, and the average family size was 3.04 people.

In 2000, the population was distributed as follows: 23.1% under 18, 6.7% between 18 and 24, 31.3% between 25 and 44, 24.6% between 45 and 64, and 14.4% 65 years or older. The average age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.8 males, and for every 100 females

Education

Most of Farmington Hills is part of the Farmington Public Schools district. This district includes eight elementary schools, three middle schools, and one K-8 lottery school. All of these schools, except one, are located in Farmington Hills. North Farmington High School, a large traditional high school, and Farmington Central High School, a smaller alternative high school, are also in Farmington Hills. Farmington High School, which is in the neighboring city of Farmington, serves some areas of Farmington Hills. Harrison High School operated in Farmington Hills from 1970 until 2019, when it closed. After closing, the building was changed into a community center called The Hawk.

A small part of Farmington Hills is in the Clarenceville and Walled Lake Consolidated school districts. The city also has Oakland Early College, an early college high school managed by the West Bloomfield School District.

There are several private schools in the area. Two parochial Catholic schools, Our Lady of Sorrows and St. Fabian, are operated by the Archdiocese of Detroit. St. Fabian is in Farmington Hills, while Our Lady of Sorrows is in Farmington. Farmington Hills also has Mercy High School, an all-girls Catholic high school, Concordia Lutheran School and St. Paul's Lutheran Preschool, a Lutheran school, and Hillel Day School, a non-denominational Jewish day school.

The Orchard Ridge campus of Oakland Community College and the Michigan School of Psychology are located in Farmington Hills.

Farmington Hills was also the setting for the fictitious University of Farmington, which was created by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) as part of a sting operation.

Transportation

The main roads in the city include M-5, Orchard Lake Road, 12 Mile Road, 8 Mile Road, Northwestern Highway, I-696, and I-275. The city has several places where local roads connect to the two interstates. Public transportation services are provided by SMART.

Notable people

Notable current and former residents include:

• Jena Irene Asciutto, singer, American Idol runner-up
• Steve Ballmer, businessman, former CEO of Microsoft, owner of the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers
• Elizabeth Berkley, actress
• Manoj Bhargava, founder and CEO of 5-hour Energy
• Pam Dawber, actress
• Alex DeBrincat, NHL hockey player for the Detroit Red Wings
• Colin Egglesfield, actor
• Sean Forbes, award-winning Deaf musician
• Donald Foss (born 1945), billionaire founder of subprime car finance company Credit Acceptance
• Cam Fowler, NHL hockey player for the St. Louis Blues
• Devin Funchess, wide receiver for the NFL's Detroit Lions
• Tatiana Gutsu, two-time Olympic champion gymnast
• Kirsten Haglund, winner of Miss Michigan (2007) and Miss America (2008)
• Arthur Hanlon, Latin musician
• Al Jean, writer/producer of The Simpsons
• Bill Joy, co-founder of Sun Microsystems
• Meg Mallon, professional golfer in Hall of Fame
• Emily Morse, sex therapist
• Larry Nassar, osteopathic physician and convicted child molester
• Jaime Ray Newman, actress
• Eren Ozker, puppeteer, Muppeteer
• Austin Price (born 1995), basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
• Cayden Primeau, NHL hockey goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens
• Neal Rubin, columnist for The Detroit News
• Barry Sanders, Hall of Fame running back for the Detroit Lions; resident
• Martha Smith, model and actress, Miss July 1973 Playboy centerfold
• Drew Stanton, retired NFL quarterback who played for the Michigan State Spartans football team
• Tally Hall, indie rock band based in Ann Arbor
• Fred Toucher, Boston radio DJ for 98.5 The Sports Hub
• James Wolk, actor
• Brian S. Eifler, 11th Airborne Division commanding general
• CoryxKenshin, YouTuber (resides in Farmington Hills, but was born in Detroit)
• Megan Keller, current defensive player with PWHL Boston with two Olympic Appearances. 2026 Gold Medalist